Educatione of a Ravenclaw
by A.P.A.17
Summary: This is a deep dive on the why of the harsh upbringing of Neville by Augusta Longbottom. And also a deep character study of the famous Lady of the house.


Augusta Longbottom trained every day in the secret underground training room of the manor. Spinning on her now spindly legs avoiding dodging spells from an automated apparatus. She practised spells and target practice on the old dusty dummy. Becoming familiar once again with wand movements that were once muscle memory.

Augusta trained. Day and night, beating her ageing old body into prime shape once again. She fueled her pain and anger in her training. Anger at the loss of her two children and the fate of her grandson. She became a daytime caregiver and a fighter in training at night. She attended to her grandson in the morning and the afternoon once Neville was in deep slumber, she trained and researched. She became familiar once again with the twirling motion of the dark defence spells of her family and the literature of her Hogwarts lesson as well as that of the Longbottom extensive library.

Augusta went through this mind-numbing task of quiet torture and training to avoid failures. As the Longbottom's failures always seemed to cost them more than others. Her failure to be vigilant and activate the manor protection has cost her both Alice and Frank. The failure of her husband to cope with grief has resulted in his premature death. But there would be no such failure from herself or even Neville anymore. As she will make him stronger so he never had to learn that "** Longbottom's failure always cost them more than others**'. A lesson, she best thought left unknown to her grandson. Like a rosy eternal illusion similar to that of childhood except one that would be eternal.

* * *

As Neville grew up, she strived to make her and Neville independent of others. She used her refreshed knowledge to make Neville own robes spell with her protection charm. Expanded the greenhouse to include an inhouse garden and poultry. Managing most of the Longbottom affairs in the house itself except for the occasional Head meetings. One of the only experience of the outside, she allowed Neville and herself were St Mungo's and only if they were wearing their most secure robes and had Binky (House elf). But those visits were rare. Augusta could not see the results of her failure so often. A failure that would forever leave her reeling and feeling as if all her internal organ was being pulled and knotted together into one of the tightest reef knot of all time. The results of her mistakes. And it was such that she and her grandson were known as the hermit of the pureblood society.

* * *

Neville was the light of her life. He was her lighthouse in the darkness. His childish mannerism and wonder never stopped to amuse her. She was the apple of her eyes. The last of keen that would have a chance at survival. She left him to his device most of the time. Letting him discover and enjoy the wonder that was childhood and the rosy simple illusion, it provided him.

Until the fatal incident of Algie the bulbous fool who dared dangle her grandson by the leg and put him into grave danger. He surely merited the talking as well as the hex he got from her. But this incident alerted her. If Neville was old enough to be out of her reach and hurt by others. It meant he was ready for training and with his obvious lack of accidental magic, Augusta would have double on her plate. Raising a magical grandchild was already tedious enough but a squib was going to be harder.

So Augusta started Neville daily tuition in Wizarding history and started researching muggle education. The plan for his education was to make him as knowledgeable on wizarding society as well as muggle society. Augusta burnt many midnight oils researching to find out the muggle education pathway. So that even if her grandson was a squib, he would still be able to live and achieve. So thus began the muggle and wizarding education of Neville at age 5. An experience that forever burns rather than mark the young boy. As men were born out of the fire that did not mark but whose feeling lingered on the skin similar to the lingering cold of a winter eve.

Alongside the plan of educating Neville ran another plan whose sole purpose was the toughening of Neville. A clear cut plan dignified of the Ravenclaw that she was. She has to withdraw herself from the affection she gave to Neville and be harsher in her demands. She was going to raise him to be a soldier and a leader.

* * *

She must have succeeded as on the day of his Hogwarts departure and during preparation, she felt calm almost eerily so. She had ordered all his needed materials and already laced them with her protection layer and she had given him his father's wand. A wand, he was worthy of now. A wand that he deserved maybe more than his father and with whom she hoped desperately would help him achieve better, even more, greater than his father. And she sent him away by a short sombre goodbye confident of his abilities. She had made a soldier. She had succeeded and she could finally let him go confident of her upbringing that was the coldness laced with her hidden love. The exact upbringing dignified of Ravenclaw after all. That met all her goal that would ensure the long life of the flame that lighted her lighthouse in the darkness.


End file.
